


Remaking a Man

by msjedimaster



Series: The Adventures of 24 [2]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Fix-It, He is going to be human by the end and cute stuff will happen, Healing, Self-Indulgent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-24
Updated: 2017-08-01
Packaged: 2018-12-06 07:25:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11595753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/msjedimaster/pseuds/msjedimaster
Summary: Gabriel Reyes is looking to return to being a human...(Continuation of 24's story, but you don't need to read it if you don't want to.)





	1. Remaking a Man

**Author's Note:**

> THis is fix-it-all-better fic. Don't look into the science or realism of it because it's most likely not there at all.  
> (I will edit more in the coming days and plan to update weekly until finished.)

“The procedure, if successful will take approximately 18 hours, after which I suspect we will need to keep you sedated for another 24-48 to allow your body to adjust to the massive amount of changes it has undergone.” Angela's words were slow and well thought out. She had to have rehashed this speech a hundred times in her head. During your discussions with her, it had been obvious. She hadn't intended to turn into Gabriel into the creature that drifted in between the reality of life and death. It had been a side effect. One she would never allow to happen again. 

Gabriel had surprisingly approached her to see if she had any treatment options. Angela had offered a shot, one she had taken two further months to test in as many ways as she could before offering it as an option to him. He had much to your surprise, come to you. Gabe hadn't directly asked for your support, but it was evident he needed it. He had asked for your input on the whole process and had demanded you be the only one to go with him on the permission required for before the procedure could begin. 

Your thoughts were interrupted when Gabriel spoke, his voice harsh. “And I have your word. You'll kill me if it isn't successful? You cannot bring me back as _this again.”_

You looked up from your thoughts and noted the somber nod Angela offered. “Of course Gabriel...”

He turned to you. “And if this witch, goes back on her word. Will you do it?” His request took you aback. Despite everything, it hadn't come to your mind that you would ever be in a situation harm, Gabriel Reyes. Your heart thudded, as the events of recent months flashed before you. He was the only reason you weren't still under Talon's thumb. The only reason more than likely you'd survived interrogation and many things besides. You weren't quite sure what he was to you, but you owed him this much at the very least.

“Yes, but only if the procedure won't work.” You can't bring yourself to meet his eye.

“You are honest at least.” He nodded his head, and his words come out in almost a growl. “And it's not like I have any other choices.” Gabriel turned back to Angela. “When do we begin Doctor?”

“As soon as you are ready, you've already absorbed enough energy to be closer to solid. We need to start before that fades.' She offers him a blue gown. 

“I'm not-” He starts to argue, but you interrupt. 

“Look, if she is going to do all this invasive shit. You need to be in a gown, now as a former special ops commander and almost terrifying monster, grow up and change please. Or am I going to have to do it for you?”

“You're hilarious, missed the true call of comedy.” He grumbled, excusing himself out of the small lab and med-bay into the bathroom to dress in the gown. 

“Well if you need help with those robes let me know!" You call after him loudly, the door is slammed shut. "Things I do for a friend.” You say shaking yor head.

Angela let out a sigh of relief. “I know I don't deserve his trust. But I am thankful for your help, and he wouldn't be this...this reasonable if you hadn't been involved.” 

“I thought he had asked you if you could fix him?” You raise an eyebrow. 

Angela shakes her head. “Not seriously, sarcastically he asked and I gave an honest and serious answer. It was several days before he came back to me and told me to see what I could do. And here we are two months later. I hope that this heals him.”

“Me too.” You hear soft footsteps behind you. You turn and have to fight to keep a straight face and suppress a laugh.  
You hadn't anticipated how amusing it would be to see such an intimidating figure dressed so. 

“If you would just lay down here Mr. Reyes, I'll get my equipment together.” Angela gestures to one of the beds. With a scowl, Gabriel sits on the bed and covers his scar covered legs with a blanket. He turns to face you but doesn't speak. The two of you simply look at each other for a long moment, you wish you had it in you to tell him how you felt. But now defiantly wasn't the time, supposing there ever was a time. 

You notice the change in his face, the more energy he absorbs, the less monstrous he appears. There is an extra set of lidless and sightless eyes. But the mouth on his right cheek is absent. If this treatment worked all that should be gone, but there was no way of being certain.

“You promised Y/n, please. I am trusting you. I need to know you'll keep your word. I need you here." His words are spoken low, and you were certain at first you had misheard.

You slowly walk to the side of the bed and settle yourself in a chair. “I'm not going anywhere until you wake up. And if the worst happens, I'll make sure care is removed, and you go out as humanely as possible. But that isn't going to happen, your strong. You have to come back to me, and I need you-” You stop yourself your throat feels tight.

“Y/n, if this works out. I think I'll owe you a dinner.” There is a hint of mirth in his words.

“You'll owe me dinner, and help in finding the other six.” You say wiping tears out of your eyes.

“More than fair, I guess I have a compelling reason to get through this now.” He nods more to himself than at you. 

You stand and press a quick kiss to his forehead. “You have me, friends, here and don't forget your poor sisters. They deserve an update after all this horrific mess, and you are a terrible brother.”

“Friends seem like a loose term for everyone here. But,” Gabriel's hand takes yours, and he grips it. “I have you, and Maria will probably kick my ass. The only reason I got good at hand to hand combat. Older sisters will do that, I'll need to come up with a good story for that one.”

There is a small cough, Angela stands in the doorway she looks apologetic. “I'll need to ask you to step out, this should only take a few minutes to start, and then you can come back and stay with him.” She informs the two of you.

You nod, and Gabriel let's go of your hand. “Be nice, don't give her a hard time.” You order trying to sound stern.

He snorts and rolls his eyes indigently. “Look, kid, I trained you. You don't get to order me around, but in this case, I will be following what you say. I'll see you in a few days I guess.” 

“In a few days of course.” You simply nod trying to smile, you let yourself out of the med-bay and settle yourself into a chair lining the wall.


	2. 18 Hours

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I felt like writing another chapter, so here you go. Maybe be more or less than 7 chapters. 7, just seemed like a decent goal for this little series.

You sat beside his bed for 18 long hours, and you hadn't been able to bring yourself to be away from him for more than a few minutes. You had made a promise, one you had to keep. 

“It is going well so far; all the major organs have formed properly. Thankfully, his brain never lost structure, or this might be impossible. Still, we will have to see how the spine and the muscles redevelop. He may need physical therapy to be able to walk. I hope not, but there is a chance.” Angela adjusted some of the nobs on the machine in front of her. The one aiding the nanobots in repairing his vital organs and growing tissues, she had begun a blood transfusion as well. This all was well out of your league. What you had known about medicine had changed drastically in the last 60 years.

You cross your arms. “Did you tell him that bit? Because I can't imagine Gabriel-” 

“I told him all the risks, and I made sure to tell him how long he could expect the recovery to take. If it even was successful. He was willing. I promise, I've made my mistakes, but I wouldn't harm him again. I care too much about him.” Angela's voice sounded hurt.

“I'm sorry Angela, I shouldn't have assumed something like that about you.” You avoid her gaze embarrassed, but when you do meet them, you see how they are filled with a mixture of pain and anger.

“Quite alright,” She said a little too stiffly. "Gabriel is almost finished with the first phase, at that point I'll need to have you step out again. I'm going to need to insert some more invasive lines, to help me keep him medicated and start him on TPN. But if this all keeps looking good. In 24 hours we will be waking him up.”

You nod your head slowly. “I am sorry. I was way out of line to say that.” It's then you notice tears falling down her cheeks.

“You know why I worked so hard to save him? Because I was in love with him, he didn't love me. Back then anyway. But I just couldn't let him go. I couldn't let him die on me. And I made him suffer so much, what kind of monster am I? To have been so selfish.” She spoke in almost a whisper wiping tears from her cheeks.

“You were selfish, but I can't say I wouldn't have tried when you love someone it's hard to put yourself aside and think what is best for them. You aren't a monster Mercy; you just weren't cut out to make a call like that alone.” You had used her field name, and she offered you a small smile. “And if you hadn't saved him, I would still be with Talon most likely. Or frozen in Your[country/state/city/geographical location as it applies] both of which would be worse than this whole breaking a UN sanction, which honestly is a tiny bit exciting and helping people. Don't be hard on yourself; you've done far more good than harm.”

Angela wipes more tears from her eyes and goes to wash her hands and puts on a clean pair of gloves. The machine lets out a quiet beep. “I wish I could agree with you, Y/n. But I need to get this next part going. Mind stepping out again?” She pulls a cart from the hallway to the bedside. And you nod your head and leave the room.

“I wish there was something I could say that would make you feel better. Just remember, you are human. We are all flawed, and please don't beat yourself too much over this.” You say in a low voice as you step outside of the room if Angela had heard you she didn't acknowledge it. You went back to the line of chairs outside the med-bay and settled yourself into one once again.

 _What would I have done?_ You liked to think you'd have been selfless and not gone above and beyond to save someone you love. But you couldn't be sure. _I won't ever know, but I guess it's not my place to judge until I've walked a mile in her shoes._

You allowed your mind to wander, you took your tablet and opened it. Scrolling to your pictures you slowly looked through all the images. Winston had been able to recover several hundred of your old Facebook photos. You found it comforting to look back at your family and friends. Most of which had died, you had decided to not reach out to those remaining alive. It wasn't safe for you right now thus making it unsafe for them to learn what had happened to you.

A half an hour had passed before she came to retrieve you. “TPN is started, I gave him some heavy sedatives, but they aren't working well. He became aggressive when I removed the machine. I had to restrain him physically, once he is more relaxed, I will remove the hand restraints. But I can't have him hurting himself on accident.”

“Well, at least muscle strength came with this treatment.” You mused trying to find the silver lining.

“Yes, it most certainly did. And he has some coordination, but I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. This was the outcome I had projected. Try speaking softly and soothing, I've seen it work with patients hearing the voice of a loved one calms them.” Angela says as you both walk back into the infirmary. You look to where he lays face contorted, he mumbles something and his hands pull at the soft restraints. 

You stand beside his bed and murmur. “Hey Gabe, it's Y/n the first part of the procedure went great. Now we just need to help you relax for a day, ok? I'm going to be here I'm not leaving. You're doing so good, has to be because of how strong you are.” As soon as you had spoken, he stopped straining against the restraints, his face relaxing. It was odd to look at him you realized, he looked so normal now, nothing monstrous, and he was completely bald. You hesitate before gently rubbing his forehead.

“Go ahead and keep relaxing Gabe. This will all be over really soon, and we are going to keep you safe.” His breathing began to slow the higher dose of sedatives kicking in. You settle into your chair, dragging it close enough to continue to gently touch his forehead.

“I'm here, and you're ok.” You repeated several times until you were certain he was asleep. Then you took one of his hands and held it tightly as a wave of exhaustion finally hit you. 

Angela walked through the door, a pillow and blanket in hand. “Not much, but I won't be dragging you off. Put your feet up on the other chair and try and rest. I have all the machines set to monitor, if anything happens I'll be here in less than 30 seconds.”  
The note of tiredness was evident in her voice. You'd almost forgotten she had been awake as long as you had.  
“Thanks, Doctor, I'm sure we will be fine, you need some sleep too it has been a long day.” You reluctantly let go of Gabriel's hand and set up your makeshift bed. Then once again grip his large hand.

“I'll see you in a few hours then.” Angela lets out a yawn and heads toward her office/bedroom. All is silent except for the sounds of his slow deep breaths. And you find yourself drifting softly to sleep.


	3. Remade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter, of this silly fluff. not sure where to jump to next but I'll worry about that next week I think. Kudos and comments are greatly appreciated!

Time passes slowly, painfully slow. There are a dozen things Angela seems to be constantly doing. Once she is finished giving medicine, she has tests to run and as soon as those are finished there is more medication to give. There are a few hours here and there where she allows herself time to sleep, usually only after you remind her she must rest. 

As slow as it crawls by, the two days pass. “Well, you need to step out again. I'm going to remove the sedation and everything else. It will take about an half-hour, and I'll come get you when this is finished.” Angela's looks exhausted but determination burns in her eyes.

“Take good care of him.” You feel your stomach twist as you slip out of the infirmary and back into your seat outside the door. This time, you are surprised to find you are not alone. Two other people occupy the seats. Hana Song and Jack Morrison. You meet both of there eyes as you settle into your seat but can't seem to find words at first.

“Uh she is extubating him now, she said it would be a little bit.” You clear your throat, and you felt so anxious. What if this didn't work? What if the worst happened?

“Angela's been keeping me updated, that's why I'm here,” Jack spoke in a hushed tone. “Seemed only right.” You hadn't expected him here. Hana slipped into the chair on your other side.

“And I knew you'd need company, although you'd try to be Miss Toughstuff and not ask.” You give her a dry chuckle. Your best friend knows you far too well.

“You are right Hana, and I don't think I could ask anyone to be here for this. But thank you. I'm glad your here both of you. I'm not ready to deal with this alone.” An uneasy silence falls, and Hana returns to the book she was reading. Jack is silent, but you notice he is fidgeting in his seat and his hands keep balling into fists. 

“I thought you hated him, so why are you here?” You ask cautiously after a moment.

The white-haired man lets out a chuckle. “Hate is too strong a word, and I never hated Gabriel. I'm sure he hates me, he'll never understand how much...” Jack seems to drift off struggling for words. “I didn't ask for leadership like that. And a long time ago I made a promise. I had to keep it least I can do.” He relaxes back into the chair, and you can see his eyes running over the dark walls avoiding your gaze.

Your curiosity is spiked now. “That is true, and I haven't been able to figure out if he hates you or Angela more. But what promise is it you made?” 

“Long time ago, I promised him I'd be there...if...if he died. He promised the same to me.” 

You feel as though someone has kicked you in the stomach you find it takes you a moment to gain the composure to speak. “Hana, I think you're looking at us in 30 years.”

“Bitter old woman who angst agree to not talk despite their repeated near death experiences and you know dying? Yes, sounds like something we would do. But afterward we'd probably cry and eat ice cream.” Hana doesn't bother to look up from her book but you know she isn't reading it. She continues after a moment this time addressing Jack. “You need to try to talk to him, maybe give it a few days. But if this is the kind of friendship I think it is...you need to give it a shot.” 

“I was just explaining, and I am not here for advice from a 20-year-old-” Jack retorts his eyes trained on the wall.

“Whoah, hold on a second. Don't you dare discredit her for being a 20-year-old active military member? She may not be old and bitter-” You feel angry, how could someone try and hold things like that against Hana? You are stopped from furthering your tangent by her hand flying over your mouth.

“I'm used to this, can't we all sit here quietly until your boyfriend wakes up all healthy and then I can go back and stream some more?” 

You go silent and nod your head. It is a full minute before you are bright red, Hana notices the change and giggles.

“He isn't my boyfriend.” You counter defensively.

“Sure he isn't, and he didn't let you hold his hand or kiss his cheek last week either did he?” 

“You promised you wouldn't tell anyone!" You hiss angrily.

“Y/n, please the whole ship made it their business to spy on you. Even Zenyatta wanted to know what was going on. The point is, you care about each other. And god knows with everything he and you have gone through; you deserve this.”

The conversation is interrupted when Angela pulls open the door and calls your name. You stand the butterflies returning to your stomach. She doesn't acknowledge the other two merely lets you in and closes the door behind you both.

“He is exhausted, but he wants to see you I'm sure. I'm going to get him some soft foods to try, make sure he sips the water very slowly. His body is still adjusting.” At Angela's words, you feel a weight lifted off your chest.

“Thank you, thank you so much.” You wrap Angela in a quick hug before darting across the infirmary to Gabriel's bed.

He is sitting up, looking out his face scowling at you. 

“I'm so glad you are okay, I was so worried about you.” You catch your breath and relax into a seat.

“Y/n, you should go.” He says firmly he doesn't meet your eye.

You are taken a back, and you hadn't expected this not this at all. You feel like crying but instead force yourself to focus on your anger. “So that's it, you get to play with my heart. Ask me to be here for you and then toss me out when you're normal again?” Tears start to fill the corners of your eye.

“Y/n, I want better than this...than me for you. You deserve better, and I was so selfish to think-” You cut him off.

“No! What is selfish is not realizing that I love you. And losing you would break me, and I've already been broken. How could I have been so stupid to think you'd want me.” You cover your face in your hands as you begin to sob.

“Come here Y/n.” His voice is rough sounding. Tears are still streaming down your cheeks as you move closer and settle yourself in the chair again. He takes both of your hands squeezing them gently. “I love you, but I also want what is best for you-”

“I don't care what you think is best for me. I want you. If....if you'll have me that is.” You interrupt him firmly.

His brown eyes meet yours, and there is a glint there you want so desperately to be for you. “I want you Y/n more than anything.” Gabriel leans forward and kisses your forehead.

“You missed.” you manage after a moment and lean forward to press a kiss to his lips it lasts a long moment before you hear a cough. Angela had returned with some food you stand and take the tray wordlessly you can see she is eager to get away from this.

“Thank you, Angela. I owe you one for this.” The shocked look on both you and Angela's caused Gabriel to laugh.

“It is the least I could do.” She mumbles before retreating quickly back to her office.  
You set the tray down on the table and settle back into your chair, you offer your hand to him, and he takes it holding it gently. 

“I'm going to take a nap, and you know this bed isn't all that bad.” He reclines his bed to flat, and you offer him a half-smile he moves allowing you to slip into the small bed beside him.

“I could get used to this.” He says as he closes, wrapping an arm around you.

“Yeah me too, me too.” You mumble tucking your head against his chest and smiling.


End file.
